Almond citrus drizzle cake

Many, many posts ago one of you left me a not very happy comment about how biased I am towards certain actors/actresses; I’m sorry, but I can’t help it: when I like something – or someone – I really like it/them.

I have my preferences and they usually dictate what I watch, listen to, eat. That is why it’s no surprise that upon receiving this absolutely delicious cookbook the first recipe I tried from it was this citrus loaf – the idea of drenching a cake with orange and lemon juice is already a favorite around here, but this time there is an obscene amount of almond paste in the cake, which made it moist beyond words.

Unlike actors, actresses and directors, I don’t usually play favorites with recipes, but this one certainly deserves an award for Best Cookbook Debut Ever. :)

Almond citrus drizzle cake
slightly adapted from the great Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple

Cake:
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (115g) all purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (224g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup almond paste, room temperature – I used homemade, recipe here
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tablespoon limoncello (optional)

Drizzle:
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
¼ cup (60ml) orange juice
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 22x12cm (9x5in) loaf pan, line with baking paper and butter the paper as well - I used this pan but there was still some better left; I baked it in a 1-liter capacity loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream butter, sugar, lemon and orange zest until creamy. Add the almond paste and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the limoncello (if using). On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated – finish mixing by hand with spatula. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool over a wire rack while you make the drizzle: in a small bowl, combine all the ingredients. Immediately pour over hot cake (don’t wait longer or the sugar will dissolve in the juices), gradually, waiting for some of the drizzle to be absorbed by the cake before pouring more. Cool in the pan, then carefully unmold and remove the paper.

* by the time I finished preparing the cake batter I found it too liquid; I then mixed in ½ cup (70g) all purpose flour

Serves 6-8